Urijah Faber is officially retired from mixed martial arts. “The California Kid” stepped foot into the cage in his home town Sacramento for the last time tonight, and defeated Brad Pickett via unanimous decision.
The first round was what many expected, with Faber just being too fast for Pickett, and picking him apart with quick shots and movement. The biggest moment of the round, and the fight, came when Faber and Pickett traded left hooks, with Pickett’s whole weight thudding the canvas. The Englishman was hurt badly and was desperately trying to avoid submission attempts and get out on the way of Faber’s brutal ground and pound, but after a shaky few minutes, the round ended, and he just about survived.
The second round slowed a little bit, with Faber doing much of the same, but this time he mixed in a few takedowns. Every single time Faber landed anything at all, the crowd would go crazy, and rightly so, with his legendary career coming to an end. After scoring the first round 10-8, I scored the second 10-9, having Faber up 20-17 going into the third round.
It was time for the final round of a legendary career, and Urijah Faber did not disappoint. He mixed quick striking and excellent level changes to baffle Brad Pickett en route to another dominant round. The 37-year-old tried time and time again to lock in a submission, mainly looking for his signature submission, a guillotine. He didn’t end up getting the finish, but Faber stood up after the final bell knowing he had won the fight, and had ended a legendary career on a high.
It’s crazy to think we will never see Urijah Faber in a cage fighting again, but I’m sure we’ll see him in there with a different type of gloves on, and a tracksuit, as he corners his many teammate’s at Team Alpha Male.
